What Are the Corbetts

‘The Corbetts’ is a collective name given to all the distinct mountains in Scotland which are between 2,500 feet and 3,000 feet, and which have a re-ascent of 500 feet on all sides.

John Rooke Corbett was a keen member of the Scottish Mountaineering Club in the mid 20th Century, primarily between the two World Wars. He was also one of the founder members of the Rucksack Club.

In 1930 he became only the second person ever to complete all the Munros and Tops (the fourth to complete only the Munros), but more importantly he was also the first person to climb all the 2,000 foot hills. A result of his time wandering was the list we know today as Corbett’s List. 

Corbetts Vs Munros

One key difference between the Corbetts and the Munros is that the definition of a Corbett is much more clearly defined. Much of today’s definition of Munro’s lies with the opinion of the Scottish Mountaineering Club secretary and members, as they have refined the list many times, based upon what they think should and should not be a Munro. With Corbett’s however, the only reason for reclassifying a hill is through more advanced height measurement.  

Bagging a Corbett 

Corbett-bagging has become much more popular recently, as more and more people have realised that there is more to life than Munros. Indeed, many Corbetts can be considered to be a far superior day out than a day Munro-bagging. For example, compare The Cobbler (a Corbett) to almost any Geal Carn (the most dull and dreary Munros you will ever see).

Corbett-bagging can also be considered much more difficult than the more popular Munro-bagging. On a good day you can ‘bag’ perhaps seven (South Shiel Ridge) or six (Fisherfield) Munros, and yet it is virtually impossible to climb five Corbetts in a single day.